In the initial processing of vegetable textile fibers of the kind comprising kenaf, jute, roselle, hemp and like fibers, it was found convenient to combine the mowing and the decortication or scutching operations directly on the field of the plantation. The main advantage as afforded by this combination is, as known, that the operation of decorticating green plants on the field, i.e., the stripping of the plant stem fibrous rind off its wooden core, permits the retting of the rind only. Therefore, mowing and decorticating machine combinations have already been developed in order to directly proceed to the decortication of the stems, as the stems are being cut by the cutting members of the mowing machine.
Now, there are mowing machines which, as such, operate in a manner which is satisfactory per se. Decorticating machines are also known, which afford very good features as to quality and efficiency. However, when a mowing machine is associated to a decorticating machine, to effect a decortication on the field, or decortication in line, of the just mowed green stems, problems arise in the operative interlocking between the two thus associated machines. The mowing machine actually yields an output of cut stems which is continuous but quite fortuitous as to order and intensity, while for a good operation of the decorticating machine it is required that the mowed stems be fed to it in a discontinuous manner, and in the form of small sheaves which are preferably supplied endwise to the passageway or throat leading into the decorticating cylinders, i.e., with the stem tips directed forwards.